“A book is a device to ignite the imagination.”

“The human imagination is often disastrous when left to its own devices.”

“Books can ignite fires in your mind, because they carry ideas for kindling, and art for matches.”

“Perhaps there is some secret homing device in books that brings them to their perfect readers.”

“... the Kindle is a "roach motel" device: its license terms and DRM ensure that books can check in, but they can't check out.”

“The qualities that make for excellence in children's literature can be summed up in a single word: imagination. And imagination as it relates to the child is, to my mind, synonymous with fantasy. Contrary to most of the propaganda in books for the young, childhood is only partly a time of innocence. It is, in my opinion, a time of seriousness, bewilderment, and a good deal of suffering. It's also possibly the best of all times. Imagination for the child is the miraculous, freewheeling device he uses to course his way through the problems of every day....It's through fantasy that children achieve catharsis.”